


The Rise of the Last Skywalker

by immortalpramheda



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Rewrite, F/M, Fix-It, Force Bond (Star Wars), Happy Ending, Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22234669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immortalpramheda/pseuds/immortalpramheda
Summary: Rewrite of the climactic battle against Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 10
Kudos: 54





	1. Chapter 1

Ben lies on the cracked ground, his body aching from head to toe. The life had been drained from the both of them. A _dyad in the force_ , as he had learned recently. Two that are one. It explained why he'd felt a connection to her before they'd even met. He already knew her. They were bonded for life. Their combined power like life itself.

Emperor Palpatine, who was barely a person anymore, stood over them. He had cheated death in the utmost unnatural way. He’d exploited their dyad to drain their life and regenerate his deteriorating body.

But their life force hadn’t been completely depleted. Ben was still conscious, only just, and he could sense her still alive. He rolls over, trying to ignore the sharp pain in his back, and sees her body out of the corner of his eye. He unsteadily tries to push himself up off the ground.

Before he’s found his footing, he’s pulled up into the air and frozen in place. This wasn’t something new, this had happened many times before under the control of his former master. He’d gotten used to it, he tuned it out and disassociated from his body to withstand such an ordeal. But now, as he’d separated himself from the dark side of the Force, he’d opened himself up to feel pain again. He was paralysed and felt helpless, and unable to breathe.

“Look what you have made,” Emperor Palpatine says. The voice that had always been there in his head. Always tormenting him, manipulating in, pretending to be a friend. He appeared to him as different voices, but he was always the puppet master. “As once I fell, so falls the last _Skywalker_.”

With the flick of his wrinkly hand, Ben is thrown back with a powerful force. He flails his arms and legs, trying to gain his bearings to no success. He slams down onto the edge of the cliff which sends him spiralling down into the endless abyss. This feels familiar and he’s taken back to an event that happened years ago.

Snoke had taken him out to the Unknown Regions and thrown him off a cliff as a test. He’d caught himself before the jagged rocks had impaled him. His master claimed it was a part of his training, throwing him into a life threatening situation to shock him into accessing that ability. A power he deep down possessed but could not access if not for a traumatic situation.

Ben focuses back to the that memory, and channels back to what he did at that time. He closes his eyes so he doesn’t have to look at rocks that are rushing past him.

And then he stops. Everything stands still and he opens his eyes. He’s laying stomach down in mid air, his arms and legs spread apart. He did it. He saved himself from falling. Now he focuses on using what remaining strength he has left to rise back up.

He leans his head back as he floats up the deep pit. He grabs onto the edge of the cliff and pulls himself up the rest of the way. His eyesight has gone blurry but he can see her vaguely in distance, up against the Emperor alone as flashes of blue light surround them. He stumbles his way over, his legs on the verge of collapse with each step.

She has one lightsaber in her hand, his mothers, as lightning is thrown at her which she absorbs.

“Skywalker can’t save you now. I snuffed them out, and with them I _snuffed_ out the hope in the galaxy. You’re all alone now, fulfil your destiny and take my place!”

The words echo through Ben’s ears as he yells out with as much ferocity as he can. “She’s not alone!”

He stops his attack on her and focusses in on him, the lightning attacking the armada up in the sky still sending flashing light throughout their surroundings. Rey turns and when she sees him, a look of relief passes over her face. With an unnerving leer, the Emperor aims the lightning at Ben. With his razor fast reflexes, he calls his grandfathers lightsaber to him to deflect the blast. He keeps his defence up as he takes heavy steps towards Rey until they’re side by side.

She gives him a knowing nod and together they face the Emperor with their lightsabers drawn.

“Be with me,” Rey says, closing her eyes and tilting her head up to the stars. “Be with me… be with me.”

Ben glances over at her. She’s trying to ask for their guidance. He joins in. “Be with me.”

“Be with me,” they say in unison.

After repeating the phrase a few more times, the voices materialise. The fallen Jedi giving them strength in their time of need. Transferring their power to them. Becoming one with them.

“These are you final steps.”

“Ben.”

“Rey.”

“ _Rise_ , and take them.”

“Bring back the balance.”

“Ben.”

“Rey.”

“As I did.”

“The light. Find the light.”

“Alone, never have you been.”

“Every Jedi who ever lived, lives in you.”

“The Force surrounds you.”

“Let it guide you.”

“As it guided us.”

“Feel the Force flowing through you.”

“Let it lift you.”

“ _Rise_.”

“Ben.”

“Rey.”

“We stand behind you.”

“ _Rise_ in the Force.”

“In the heart of a Jedi, lies their strength.”

“ _Rise_.”

“ _Rise_.”

“Ben.”

“Rey.”

“The Force will be with you.”

“Always.”

A powerful Force washes over the both of them, giving more strength than they should be able to possess at this moment. Ben and Rey both stand with a determined stature.

The Emperor stands his ground and focusses on Rey, giving her the brunt of his attack. “Let your death be the final word in the story of rebellion. You are _nothing_! A scavenger girl is no match for the power in _me_!”

He then turns his attention to Ben. “And you… young Skywalker, your bloodline ends _today_.” A stronger force of lightning hits him but he stands strong. “I am _all_ the Sith!” The Emperor pulls back, ready to unleash his full power and obliterate them.

Ben takes a step towards Rey and uses all his strength to drag his lightsaber along and cross it over hers. They form an _X_ and together they absorb the force lightning.

“And we…” Rey says.

“…are all the Jedi,” Ben finishes.

They stand together, untied in their strength. Together, they take a heavy step forwards, ready to finish him once and for all. The lightsabers stop absorbing the lightning and instead begin to deflect back into it’s source. Their bodies are trembling and their hair is flying up from the rogue electricity volts but they don’t let down their guard.

In a blinding flash of light, a giant ball of force energy vaporises Emperor Palpatine. Because of the strength of the Jedi of the past and the combined strength of their dyad, they'd managed to defeat him.

The ground below them shakes as debris rains down around them. They stand, weakened and out of breath. They look at each other in harmony, just as they did after defeating the guards in Snoke’s throne room. It was a strange sense of _deja vu_ , but this time, they were both on the same side. They both had the same goal.

Rey looks around as though in a trance as the lightsaber in her hand falls to the ground. She collapses and her body piles into a heap. Ben feels light-headed too and can no longer stand up. He falls to the ground with a thump.

Ben blinks his eyes furiously, trying to keep himself awake. The smoke from the lightning and destruction is making everything look a strange colour. He uses what strength remains to crawl his broken body over to her. Her eyes are glazed over and dull. He gathers her up and cradles her.

Her lifeless body lays limply in his arms. He supports her head with his left arm, stopping it from rolling back. Her eyes are empty. He looks around desperately for help, but there is no one there. No one is coming to help him. Not now. Not when he needs them most. He’s all alone.

He looks at her face, takes in all the details and then he hugs her close, listening for a heartbeat, for a pulse, for _anything_. But there is nothing. Only silence. His body won’t stop trembling uncontrollably as he takes in the scent of her hair. It wasn’t fair. She should be the one who lives, not him. She was _good_. She chose the _right_ path. He didn’t.

But maybe… maybe he could repay the favour. Maybe he could bring her back the way she had on the wreckage of the Death Star. The way she killed Kylo Ren and allowed him to come back as Ben.

“Can you hear me?” he says desperately. “Hold on.”

He places his right hand on her abdomen and focusses on transferring his life force to her. He takes in deep breaths as he feels it leave his body and absorb into her in a transference of warmth. He feels himself getting weaker and light-headed but he doesn’t stop. He closes his eyes and hopes against all odds that this works. He was spared for a reason. For _her_. She’s the one who deserves to live. She’s the one who _needs_ to live.

Just as it seems as though it’s not working, that he’s not strong enough, he feels her hand on top of his. His eyes fly open and his lips part in relief. Her eyes are no longer glazed over and they are focussed right on him. Her head tilts up and she straightens up stiffly, her eyes never leaving his. Her face is in a state of shock. She was dead but now she’s alive and looking deep into his eyes. Her eyes dart all over his face, taking it all in, not quite sure if what is happening is real.

He looks at her, wanting to commit every part of her to memory. He never wants to forget. A lump appears in his throat, he wants to say something but the words don’t come. But the silence says more than enough. She could always read his face better than anyone else. She’s the only one who could see the real him.

“Ben,” she says, her face breaking into a genuine smile.

He searches her face, almost on the verge of tears, in disbelief that she’s calling him by that name. His lips form into a small thin smile and he gives a little nod in response. He is Ben, the person she always believed him to be. This is who he is. This is who he was always supposed to be. And he’d finally gotten here.

He could feel himself slipping but he didn’t want to miss a single moment. He’d never known anything like this. Those voices had always been there, but now for the first time in his life it was quiet. There was finally room to let another feeling in. One of pure happiness.

But that was all he got. One fleeting moment, which he wouldn’t have traded for the galaxy, and then it was over.

The life leaves his body. Her expression changes to one of concern and worry as he falls back, her hand still connected to his. His life force depleted. Empty. He used it to save her. But after everything he’d done, it was all worth it. Her hand in his, that is the last thing he remembers. The last thing he _felt._


	2. Chapter 2

Ben awakens to a void of darkness surrounding him. Things look a little hazy and he’s unsure of where he is. Voices surround him, some of the same voices he heard before but this time they weren't talking to him. They weren’t encouraging him. They weren’t giving him strength. They were memories of the past.

“Anakin, all I want is your love.”

“Love won’t save you, Padme.”

“You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you.”

“You’re my only hope.”

“I love you.”

“I know.”

“You think I want to forget him? I want him back.”

“There’s still light in him, I know it."

“If you see our son, bring him home.”

"No one’s ever really gone.”

“Love.”

“Love.”

“ _Love_.”

“I told you I’d see you around, kid,” a voice says from behind him.

He turns into the vast unknown, startled by the familiar voice. He is dressed in the same clothes he was wearing back on Crait, except he looks older. More wrinkles around his face and longer grey hair. And he's surrounded by a faint blue outline, looking almost godlike. “Uncle Luke.”

Ben isn’t angry like he had been ever since that fateful night. He now understood that people don’t always make the best choices. People sometimes make horrible mistakes and errors in judgement. He didn’t blame his uncle anymore. Hatred only led to suffering. Forgiveness was the way forward. Just as his father had forgiven him which is what pushed him onto a better path.

It was clear now. Painfully clear where he was. “Is this it?” _Death, is this what it feels like?_

His uncle gives him a mysterious smile that he doesn’t know what to make of.

“I’m proud of you, Ben. I knew you had it in you. You finished what I started,” another voice says.

He turns to see a man surrounded by a blue luminescent outline, dressed in Jedi robes. He has scrappy hair that has settled in a similar fashion to his own. He immediately knows who it is. The voice he’d called out to everytime he touched the burnt mask. He’d _desperately_ wanted him to respond, to hear his guidance. His parents and uncle had lost faith in him, but maybe he would understand. But as hard as he tried, he only ever heard the distorted breathing and mechanical voice. And it wasn’t even him. It was an imposter, telling him to do those things.

He feels a sense of joy at finally getting to meet the man he’d misguidedly admired from afar. “Grandfather.”

“You brought balance, Ben, as I once did.” He places a hand on his grandson’s shoulder. “You and your _dyad_.”

Tears begin to sting his eyes. All he ever wanted was to make him proud. All he ever wanted to make _someone_ proud.

“You succeeded where I failed. You are a worthy heir to the Skywalker legacy.”

He gives a little nod, not knowing how else to respond to this kind of praise.

“You _saved_ her.”

“Rey,” he says as a weight is lifted off his chest. “I saved her.”

“She lives,” his grandfather says. “After all my failures who would have guessed it would be my grandson who would be the one to possess the power to save a loved one from death.”

He feels a sense of accomplishment. He’d made someone proud. He’d done something _right_.

“Ben,” another voice calls out. The voice immediately makes his eyes begin to water. He turns to see his mother, in all her regal glory, standing before him.

“Mom,” he says as his voice breaks. He appears to turn back into a childlike state and rushes into her arms as he used to do when he was upset.

She holds him tightly, lovingly, and he doesn’t want her to ever let go. This was home. This was what he’d imagine coming home to be like.

He pulls away to get a look at her face. It had aged since they last saw each other and her grey hair was twisted around her head like a halo. “Mom, I’m sorry.”

“My son,” she says, caressing his face. “I’ve missed you.”

Tears begin to fall down his cheeks as his bottom lip begins to wobble. He tries to hold back he is unable to do so. “I’m home now.”

His mother reaches up and takes him by the shoulders. “Ben, you have to go back.”

He looks around at his grandfather and uncle, and realises that only they are surrounded by a blue tinge. His mother and himself are not.

“No one wants me around. Not after what I’ve done. The voices—” The voices that were there taunting him for as long as he could remember. Corrupting him, turning him into a monster, making him do unforgivable things.

“They’re gone,” his mother says.

“It’s only us now,” Luke says.

“She’s waiting for you,” his grandfather says. “The Skywalker bloodline lives on through _you_. The Jedi live on through _you_.”

“We’ll be with you,” Luke says.

“Always,” his mother says.

They begin to fade away, and in the vast distance hundreds of individuals appear, all of them tinged with a luminescent blue outline. All of the fallen Jedi. All of their voices coming together as one.

“ _Rise_.”

“ _Rise_.”

He feels a force dragging him away from them, pulling him up. The voices echo into a vortex and the darkness begins to turn back into light. He keeps his eyes on his mother, who blends into the crowd, a blue luminescent outline now surrounding her body too. Becoming one with them. Now he understood - she’d held on for _him_. She couldn’t be at peace until she knew her son was safe.

“ _Rise_ … _rise_ …” the voices all say together.

“The belonging you seek is not behind you…”

“ _Rise_ , Ben.”

“It is ahead.”

“ _Rise_.”

“I’ll come back for you, sweetheart.”

“ _Rise_.”

“I promise.”

Those voices, different this time. Some are things that had happened, yet hadn’t. He’d heard them yet they weren’t his memories, they were _hers_. Their bond was something innately different, caught somewhere between space and time. The past, present and future, all happening simultaneously and converging as one when they came together.

The voices fade and he feels air fill his lungs. He can hear her voice. He needs to comfort her. If only he could make himself say something.

“ _Please_ wake up,” she sobs.

He tries to open his eyes but they feel as though they’re glued shut. “Rey,” he manages to whisper, barely audible.

“Ben.” Her hand is still tightly gripped onto his.

His eyes flutter open and she comes into view. She helps pull him up and they stare into each others eyes. She brings her left hand up to rest on his cheek, shaking as it lingers there, the place where his scar used to be. His body feels alive at her touch.

“I thought you were…” she stutters, trailing off. “You came back.”

He takes a moment to let himself believe this is really happening, and then he smirks at her. “I’m hard to get rid of.”

She rests her thumb on his cheek and runs her fingers along his hairline. She focusses her gaze on his face, her eyes darting to his lips and before he knows whats happening her lips have crashed into his.

He leans into the kiss, desperately wanting to get closer to her. To become one with her. He wraps his right arm around her back and runs his left hand through her hair. Her hands squeeze his face, holding tightly, not wanting to let go.

They stay together, connected, not wanting to part for fear that then it will be over.

What seems like a lifetime later, she opens her eyes and pulls back. A rush of emotions run through his veins as his eyes slowly open to find her still smiling at him. He runs his hand down the back of her neck to land on her lower back. He can’t believe that she wants him. That she still wants _him_ despite all the things he’s done. That she wants to be with _Ben_ , the broken and lonely boy who lost his way.

His face remains indifferent for a moment, unable to show true emotion as he’d been taught to suppress it for so long. Because he was told feeling emotions made you weak. But now that he is free he allows himself to _smile_. Not just a little subtle one, he shows off his crooked teeth as his eyes scrunch up in joy. His face lights up in a way it never has before.

He’d shut himself off from all those feelings for so long, but now he’d opened himself back up. He’d allowed himself to feel pain. To feel happiness. To feel hope. To feel desire.

To feel _love_.


End file.
